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Post by clarencebunsen on Mar 1, 2015 19:06:13 GMT -5
Another hole in my education, I had never previously come across the term "Akeda." Wiki has an interesting discussion. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binding_of_IsaacThere is a tradition which holds that he rock upon which Isaac was bound became the center of the Sanctum Sanctorum of Salomon's temple and then of Zarubbabel's temple which was later rebuilt by Herod the Great. Today it still exists as the center of the Dome of the Rock on Temple Mount and in many ways the heart and the central mystery of three great religions. |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 2, 2015 9:31:14 GMT -5
LENT DAY 13 - ENCOUNTERING GOD ON THE MOUNTAIN
The Transfiguration was, obviously, of great importance for the first Christians. We've been talking about how the early Church related it to the Akeda so let's take a deeper look at its Biblical framework.
The Transfiguration takes place on a mountain, and this right away places it in relation to the Old Testament. Abraham is willing to sacrifice his son on a mountain; Noah's ark comes to rest on Mt. Ararat; the law is given to Moses on Mt. Sinai; Elijah challenges the priests of Baal on Mt. Carmel; Jerusalem is built on the top of Mt. Zion. Mountains are places of encounter with God.
In the New Testament, Jesus gives the law on a mountain, the Sermon on the Mount; he dies on Mt. Calvary; and, in a climactic moment in his public life, he brings three of his disciples to the top of a mountain - and there he is transfigured before them.
What is especially stressed here is the manner in which Jesus represents the fulfillment of the Old Testament revelation, economically symbolized by the two figures with whom he converses: Moses, representing the law, and Elijah, representing the prophets. When a Jew of Jesus' time would speak of the Scriptures, he would use a shorthand: the Law and the Prophets.
In speaking to Moses and Elijah, in the glory of the Transfiguration, Jesus signals that he brings the law and the prophets to their proper fulfillment. N.T. Wright, the great contemporary Biblical scholar, says that the Old Testament remained, fundamentally, a story without an ending, a promise without fulfillment...that is, until Jesus came into history.
"In both the Law and the Prophets, Israel knows that it is the specially elected nation, but it also knows that the promise of that election is unfulfilled."
- Father Robert Barron
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Post by Deleted on Mar 3, 2015 10:31:03 GMT -5
LENT DAY 14 - THE MEANING OF THE TRANSFIGURATION
At the Transfiguration, Moses was there representing the law and Elijah was there representing the prophets. But why were Peter, James, and John present? And what does this event mean to us today?
St. Thomas Aquinas devotes an entire section in his Summa theologiae to this event. His treatment sums up much of the wisdom of the Fathers, so looking at his reflections may give us some answers.
Aquinas says that it was fitting that Christ be manifested in his glory because those who are walking an arduous path need a clear sense of the goal of their journey. The arduous path is this life, with all of its attendant sufferings, failures, setbacks, disappointments, and injustices, and its goal is heavenly glory, fullness of life with God, the transformation of our bodies.
As he makes his way toward the cross, Jesus accordingly allows, for a brief time, his glory to shine through, the radiance of his divinity to appear. We are not meant finally for this world. This event is meant to awaken our sense of wonder at the world to come.
Next, Aquinas asks about the "light" or the "glory" that envelops Christ during the Transfiguration. It "shines." Why have people, trans-historically and trans-culturally, associated holiness with light? Well, light is that by which we see, that which illumines and clarifies. But at bottom it is the fact that light is beautiful. Beautiful things shine. Aquinas says that Jesus, at the Transfiguration, began to shine with the radiance of heaven so as to entrance us with the prospect of our own transfiguration.
Finally, Aquinas talks about the witnesses to the Transfiguration, namely Peter, James, John, Moses, and Elijah. Moses stands for the Law. Jesus recapitulates, perfects, and illumines the Mosaic law: "I have come not to abolish the law but to fulfill it." Christ is the new Moses, the new Lawgiver.
Similarly, Elijah stands for the prophets; he was the greatest of the prophets. The prophets spoke the words of God; Jesus is the Word of God. Therefore, the prophetic books are read in his light.
But why is Peter there? Because, says Aquinas, he loved the Lord the most. Why is John there? Because the Lord loved him the most. Why is James there? Because he was the first of the Apostles to die for his faith.
Who gets access to the glory of Jesus? Those who are tied to him through love.
"Therefore it was fitting that He should show his disciples the glory of his clarity to which he will configure those who are his."
- St. Thomas Aquinas
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Post by Deleted on Mar 4, 2015 10:29:34 GMT -5
LENT DAY 15 - LESSONS IN PRAYER
As we continue our Lenten meditations, I would like use the story of the Transfiguration as an occasion to reflect on the nature of prayer. Studies show that prayer is a very common activity. Even many of those who profess no belief in God pray!
But what precisely is prayer - or better, what ought it to be? The Transfiguration is extremely instructive. We hear that Jesus took Peter, James, and John with him "up the mountain to pray." Now, as we've said before, mountains are standard Biblical places of encounter with God, with the Yahweh who was imagined as living in the sky. So the higher you go, the closer you come to God.
We don't have to be literal about this, but we should unpack its symbolic sense. In order to commune with God, you have to step out of your every day, workaday world. The mountain symbolizes transcendence, otherness, the realm of God.
Your mountain could be church, a special room in your house, the car, a corner of the natural world. But it has to be someplace where you have stepped out of your ordinary business. And you have to take the time to do it. Jesus and his friends literally stepped away in order to pray.
The text then says, "While he was praying, his face changed in appearance and his clothing became dazzling white." The reference here is to Moses whose face was transfigured after he communed with God on Mt. Sinai. But the luminosity is meant in general to signal the invasion of God.
In the depths of prayer, when you have achieved a communion with the Lord, the light of God's presence is kindled deep inside of you, at the very core of your existence. And then it begins to radiate out through the whole of your being. That's why it is so important that Luke mentions the clothing of Jesus becoming dazzling white. Clothes evoke one's contact with the outside world. The God discovered in prayer should radiate out through you to the world, so that you become a source of illumination.
"Light is that by which we see and understand. As a person of prayer, you will be a beacon by which people around you understand their world more completely."
- Fr. Robert Barron
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Post by Deleted on Mar 5, 2015 10:17:01 GMT -5
LENT DAY 16 - OUT OF THE ORDINARY WORLD
We've mentioned before how Moses and Elijah represent the Law and the Prophets, but there is more to their appearance at the Transfiguration than just a symbolic representation or shorthand for the Jewish Scriptures. They give us additional insights into the nature of prayer.
Recall that the text says, "behold, two men were conversing with him, Moses and Elijah..." When you pray, you step out of the ordinary world of space and time and enter into the properly eternal realm of God. This means that you can come into contact with the past and the future. You establish contact with what the Church calls "the communion of saints," all those friends of God over the centuries. We speak of invoking the saints, speaking with them, seeking their help and intercession. This is not just pious talk. It is the metaphysics of eternity.
But what precisely are Jesus, Moses, and Elijah talking about? The answer is "...his exodus that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem." We notice first of all the wonderful thematic connection between the Exodus that Moses led - a journey from slavery to freedom - and the exodus that Jesus would accomplish on the cross, a journey from sin and death to resurrection.
In both cases, it is a great work of liberation and life-giving love, and this is key. The fruit of prayer in the Biblical tradition is action on behalf of the world. We are, essentially, a mission religion. Even the highest moments of mystical union are meant to conduce to doing God's work in the world, to becoming a conduit of the divine grace. This is why Peter's line is so important: "Master, it is good that we are here; let us make three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah."
As Luke points out immediately, "But he did not know what he was saying." The point of prayer is not to stay on the mountain. It is not to cling to mystical experience, however wonderful. It is to become radiant with the divine light so as to share it with the world. And this is why the voice from the cloud, once it identified Jesus, specified, "Listen to him."
"Don't just admire Jesus; don't simply worship him. Do what he tells you."
- Fr. Robert Barron
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Post by Deleted on Mar 6, 2015 9:43:59 GMT -5
LENT DAY 16 - DIVINE LIGHT
One of the key visuals in the story of the Transfiguration is the divine light that radiates from Jesus. Matthew says, "His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light." Luke reports, "His clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning." And Mark says, "His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them."
This light seems to signal the beauty and radiance of a world beyond this one, a world rarely seen, only occasionally glimpsed, amidst the griminess and ordinariness of this world.
Is this beautiful and radiant world ever seen today? Let me share a few stories with you. When I was travelling recently, I met a man who, as a young man, met St. Padre Pio, the famous stigmatist. He was privileged to serve his Mass. During the elevation of the host, after the consecration, this man noticed something remarkable: there was a glow around the holy man's hands. Years later when he heard reports of "auras" he said to himself, "That's what I saw that day."
Malcolm Muggeridge, the English journalist and convert to Catholicism, was filming Mother Teresa for a documentary. One day, the electricity was out, and he bemoaned the fact that he had to film her without lights, convinced that the day would be lost. However, when the film was developed, he noticed that the scenes were beautifully lit. To his surprise it appeared as though the light was coming from her.
Consider also the Shroud of Turin. There is scientific speculation that the marks on the shroud, the holy icon thought by many to be the burial shroud of Christ, were caused by a burst of radiant energy - light energy.
I'd like to leave you with one last thought: from the time of the earliest disciples, the holy followers of Jesus were pictured with halos above their heads. What is a halo if not the divine light breaking into our world today?
"St. Aquinas says that Jesus is transfigured before his disciples in order to allow them to see the great goal so that they might have courage as they struggle on the way."
- Fr. Robert Barron
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Post by Deleted on Mar 7, 2015 10:03:57 GMT -5
LENT DAY 18 - DIVINE LIGHT AND THE LITURGY
Yesterday we talked about the divine light as it appears through holy men and women. But is it possible for us ordinary people to see this light? I suggest that we do so every time we enter into the drama and beauty of the liturgy.
As Jesus appears in full glory, Peter, James, and John fall down in holy fear. This speaks of the attitude of worship, the stance that all of us assume every time we approach the altar of God.
See also how the story paints an icon of the liturgy, both earthly and heavenly. At the center of it stands Jesus, the light of the world, the source of life. On either side of him stand Moses (the Law) and Elijah (the prophet). In the course of the liturgy, we read from the Old Testament, described in Jesus' time in the shorthand of "the Law and the Prophets."
They also stand for the communion of saints, those who have been drawn into the heavenly life and who commune with Jesus. They are present at the liturgy, and we invoke them just before the Eucharistic prayer: "with the angels and the saints."
There is also a "bright cloud" and from the cloud a voice declaring "this is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased, listen to him." The bright cloud signifies the Holy Spirit, and the voice is that of God the Father. This is a Trinitarian theophany - as at the Baptism - and this theophany runs right through the liturgy from beginning to end.
After the vision, Peter, James, and John return to their day-to-day lives, coming back down the mountain. So, after we have glimpsed the light, we are told "Go, the Mass is ended."
"We are on pilgrimage through this world, struggling our way to the true patria of heaven. To remind us of our goal, God allows us to see the light."
- Fr. Robert Barron
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Post by Deleted on Mar 8, 2015 12:15:48 GMT -5
LENT DAY 19 - THE CLEANSING OF THE TEMPLE
The Temple in Jerusalem was everything for ancient Jews. The Temple was the religious center of the nation, as well as the political and cultural capital. To get some idea of its importance, we would have to think of the Vatican, the United Nations, and the Sorbonne. For the Biblical Jews, the Temple was more than a religious meeting place; it was God's house, the place where God made his dwelling on earth, the tabernacle of Yahweh.
So what did it mean for a provincial prophet to come into the holy city of Jerusalem and make a ruckus in the Temple? Well, you can surely imagine. What if someone burst into St. Peter's Basilica and began shouting and turning things over and announcing judgment? It would be shocking and embarrassing beyond words.
To make matters worse, Jesus says something that is as shocking as his actions.
When they ask him to justify what he has done, he says, "I will destroy this Temple and in three days rebuild it." He says he will destroy the most sacred symbol imaginable.
So what was he doing and why? First, in showing his lordship over even this most sacred symbol, he was announcing who he was - God. Second, he was instituting a new Temple - the temple of his own body. The authentic dwelling place of God, the sanctuary that replaces the corrupt sanctuaries of religion is the temple of his crucified and risen body. Jesus himself is the place where God dwells, and we, in the measure that we are grafted on to him, are temples of the Holy Spirit.
Today the Church is the sacred Temple of Christ's body. It is most itself when it gathers to pray as his body and around his body and blood.
Does this mean that the Church, in its institutional dimension, is beyond criticism? Obviously not. Sometimes we need the Lord to come into the Temple and clean it out.
Does it mean that, individually, we are clean and pure? No, and this Lent we might invite Jesus in for a little spring-cleaning. What in our "Temple" needs to be purified? How have we allowed the moneychangers to invade the sacred space? What would arouse the anger of Jesus if he toured around inside our house?
"Jesus is passing judgment on all of the inadequate, corrupt forms of human religion and is establishing the new and eternal covenant, the new Temple, in his own person."
- Fr. Robert Barron
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Post by Clipper on Mar 8, 2015 12:57:09 GMT -5
Alan, I appreciate your bringing these reflections from Father Barron to us during lent. Although I am have not been a practicing Catholic for many years, and am not in agreement in much of the Catholic Church's doctrine, I am a bible believing Christian, and these reflections are very enlightening no matter what your denominational affiliation. These reflections bring us to focuson the reason for the Easter season, and to the crucifixion, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
I can't imagine life without believing that Christ died for our sins, and that OUR sins are forgiven if we acknowledge our sins, repent, and ask for forgiveness through prayer.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 8, 2015 17:12:13 GMT -5
Alan, I appreciate your bringing these reflections from Father Barron to us during lent. Although I am have not been a practicing Catholic for many years, and am not in agreement in much of the Catholic Church's doctrine, I am a bible believing Christian, and these reflections are very enlightening no matter what your denominational affiliation. These reflections bring us to focuson the reason for the Easter season, and to the crucifixion, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. I can't imagine life without believing that Christ died for our sins, and that OUR sins are forgiven if we acknowledge our sins, repent, and ask for forgiveness through prayer. Exactly what you say Clipper. By posting these reflection on scripture I do not want to give the impression that I am forcing the views of the Catholic Church down anyone's throat. All of these reflection are excellent scripture commentary that is not viewed by just the Catholic Church this is pure scripture commentary that is Christian and Jewish in nature. It is as such a historical perspective on scripture. Good God I don't want to be the cause of any division. |
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Post by Clipper on Mar 8, 2015 17:35:57 GMT -5
I am sure that no one here would take offense with your sharing these reflections with us. For whatever differences there are among Christian denominations and our jewish friends, the fact remains that we share a love for scripture and try to live by it's laws. While I have used a New International Version in late years, I recently purchased a King James bible at a thrift store and have been reading it occasionally. I am not a religious person by any means, but I DO read scripture. As an avid reader, and a person interested in history and historic events, what better place to start than bible? When my mom bought me the leather bound NIV bible years ago, I read it daily until I had read the entire bible. I think I mentioned it before, but I will say it again. When I frequent thrift stores or garage sales, I will pick up a bible or two when I find them, and I either give them to troubled folks whose path I cross or I drop them at the county jail that is only a couple miles down the road. When I was in alcohol rehab I read a Gideon bible that was in the night stand at night before falling asleep. When a friend here was jailed for 60 days for failure to appear on a traffic problem (driving while his license was suspended) I visited him every Saturday morning. I asked him one Saturday if he need me to bring him anything. The only thing he wanted was a bible.
Bottom line Alan is that if anyone IS offended by any references to scripture or to God, they can simply click on some other thread and not read what you post. the person offended by a reference to God is probably the person most in need of his word.
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Post by Clipper on Mar 8, 2015 17:48:11 GMT -5
PS: Since you brought these reflections from Father Robert Barron to light, I went searching him out to learn a little more about him. I am sure that you are well aware of his blog "Word On Fire." His blog has some very interesting entries and articles by some very interesting people such as Dr. Tom Neal. Thanks for inadvertently leading me to some very interesting reading.  |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 8, 2015 19:08:48 GMT -5
Another hole in my education, I had never previously come across the term "Akeda." Wiki has an interesting discussion. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binding_of_IsaacThere is a tradition which holds that he rock upon which Isaac was bound became the center of the Sanctum Sanctorum of Salomon's temple and then of Zarubbabel's temple which was later rebuilt by Herod the Great. Today it still exists as the center of the Dome of the Rock on Temple Mount and in many ways the heart and the central mystery of three great religions. I had totally forgotten that term until I started reading these emails from word on fire. Some of the material I learned in theology graduate school is hiding in my brain and some of it gets activated when I read of them. |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 8, 2015 19:20:58 GMT -5
I am sure that no one here would take offense with your sharing these reflections with us. For whatever differences there are among Christian denominations and our jewish friends, the fact remains that we share a love for scripture and try to live by it's laws. While I have used a New International Version in late years, I recently purchased a King James bible at a thrift store and have been reading it occasionally. I am not a religious person by any means, but I DO read scripture. As an avid reader, and a person interested in history and historic events, what better place to start than bible? When my mom bought me the leather bound NIV bible years ago, I read it daily until I had read the entire bible. I think I mentioned it before, but I will say it again. When I frequent thrift stores or garage sales, I will pick up a bible or two when I find them, and I either give them to troubled folks whose path I cross or I drop them at the county jail that is only a couple miles down the road. When I was in alcohol rehab I read a Gideon bible that was in the night stand at night before falling asleep. When a friend here was jailed for 60 days for failure to appear on a traffic problem (driving while his license was suspended) I visited him every Saturday morning. I asked him one Saturday if he need me to bring him anything. The only thing he wanted was a bible. Bottom line Alan is that if anyone IS offended by any references to scripture or to God, they can simply click on some other thread and not read what you post. the person offended by a reference to God is probably the person most in need of his word. I have read King James and NIV and now use the New American Bible. I like extensive footnotes. I used different versions in graduate school as well as Old Testament Hebrew text. It is very interesting to look at the various interpretation due to the use of various languages, example Hebrew, Latin, Greek, English. Some of the German Bible Scholar's really have brought a new understanding of the various writings and sayings. All of those studies and present research in Biblical text really happened as a result of Vatican Council 2. Of course writings from the early years 325AD shed wonderful information of what the Church believed in those times. What ever you do don't read those inclusive language texts in some new copies of the Bible. It throws off the meaning of many dialogue's in many of the text's. |
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Post by Clipper on Mar 8, 2015 21:44:57 GMT -5
The only other bible I have is a Nave's Topical Bible. It is a great reference book to own if one cares to delve deeper into any particular subject contained in scripture. It lists references to various verses pertaining to the subject at hand and will send a person on a expedition that can keep one busy flipping from one book to another in the bible for hours. I am sure you have seen one at some time or another in your travels.
Well, I am off to bed Alan. It has been a long day. It was in the 60s here today and I was out and about picking up pine cones and debris around the yard and sweeping the driveway with a push broom. Spring has sprung. We will still have some cold days, but overall our winter should be a thing of the past.
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